Hillary Clinton Just Changed the Scope of Possibility for All Women

I recently asked my mom, who raised three very independent daughters, how she became a feminist. My mom went to Smith, an all-women’s college, during a time of turmoil in the country—and before “leaning in” was part of the everyday conversation. But it was also a time during which, she said, there was always an unspoken feeling that “women can do anything.”

And yet, even as I was raised with this belief, there remained one job that a woman had never held—nor even really come close to holding.

That changed forever Tuesday night, when Hillary Clinton became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Of course, Clinton didn’t achieve this alone or overnight. As TIME’s Jay Newton-Small points out, she stands on the shoulders of 35 other female presidential candidates, many of them Republicans, who have fought to make themselves heard in government.

“This campaign is about making sure there are no ceilings—no limits—on any of us,” Clinton said in her victory speech.

One of the founding principles of Motto is that you can’t be what you can’t see. In our quest to show what success looks like for women all over the world, we aim to bring you faces, names and stories you have never heard before. Say what you will about Hillary Clinton—and what hasn’t been said about Hillary Clinton?—but the selection of the first woman to be a major-party nominee for President of the United States is an extraordinary and long-overdue event. This is a historic, glass-shattering moment for women. Regardless of your political beliefs, it’s hard not to be awed by her struggles over the years or to be inspired by the resilience she has shown in the face of them.

Abby Wambach, who helped lead the U.S. women’s national soccer team to Olympic gold medals in 2004, 2012 and the 2015 World Cup, wrote at Motto’s launch, “Think about the 15-year-old girl looking up to a woman president and walking a little taller. Then think about the 15-year-old boy looking at his friend and thinking she could possibly be president one day—that slight shift in subconscious gender norms. In my opinion, this could actually change the world and the way we all operate in it.”

So yes, mom, women can do anything.

You May Like

Read More

Motto Newsletter

Love, sex and life advice and news from and about the perspective of women. View Sample